My new variety of lily plant originated as a seedling selected from a group of seedlings at Gresham, Oreg. The seedlings were planted during a breeding program carried on by me since the year 1965. This program has as its primary objective the production of upright hybrid Asiatic lilies in white and cream color shades heretofore unknown in lily breeding; also to be characterized by plant vigor, rapid propagation, high resistance to disease, tolerance of infection by virus, having flowers of superior form and color.
I achieved the desired objective by using as the seed parent a clone selected from the complex hybrid strain, Lilium `Hallmark`. The pollen parent was produced by pollinating an unspotted clone of Lilium dauricum with the pollen of a different clone from the complex hybrid Lilium `Hallmark` strain.
My new lily plant is characterized by a clear creamy-white color. It shows vigorous growth and propagation characteristics. Its stems are dark in color and provide an attractive contrast to the abundant foliage, which is deep green in color with a reddish cast.
The plant has a large number of buds, producing from 6 to 10 from a bulb 5 to 7 inches in circumference. The buds are an attractive soft buff color when the tepals first divide, and the inner tepals are a creamy white with soft buff throat. The flower becomes a pure, sparkling white on the second day after opening.
The flowers are particularly distinctive. They are characterized by tepals of fine form, unusual breadth, and sharp, clean outline. They are lightly spotted, primarily at the base, and are a sparkling, enduring white because of their great thickness. The pollen of this new lily is a fluorescent tangerine red, providing contrast to its unusual color.
The plant is one of the most vigorous upright Asiatic lilies yet produced. It is a rapid propagator and has superb disease resistance and a high degree of tolerance of infection by virus. It is an excellent garden lily and is outstanding for use in the cut flower or pot plant trade by forcing precooled bulbs, all as observed at Gresham, Oreg.
My new variety of lily plant has been asexually reproduced by me and under my direction at Gresham, Oreg. Successive generations produced by bulb scale propagation and natural propagation from bulblets have demonstrated that the novel and distinctive characteristics of my new variety are fixed and hold true under asexual propagation from generation to generation.